Under the slogan Let’s get Panama back!, a group of citizens and independent deputies announced Tuesday the launch of the coalition called “Vamos.”
The goal is to support people who want to apply for positions of deputies, mayors and representatives through free application. The coalition is led by independent deputies Gabriel Silva and Juan Diego Vásquez, and seeks to organize, train and promote the candidates during their signature collection process and later during the electoral campaign.
Silva and Vásquez, accompanied by their alternates Walkiria Chandler and Yahaira Perén, announced that they will begin receiving applications for the 2024 general elections. Coalition supporters include Javier Yap Endara, Paulette Thomas and Sherryl Girón, among others. others.
In a press conference at Parque Urracá, in Bella Vista, Silva explained that the goal is to bring local governments and the National Assembly to independent people, who promote an anti-corruption agenda and who question the actions of the government. The event in Parque Urracá was full of young people, most of them identified with the light blue color.
“We have realized that to make the deep reforms that Panama deserves we cannot be only four or five,” Silva said when taking the floor. “We need to take over the National Assembly, take over the local governments and we are going to do it in 2024 ″, he said to applause. Silva invited “decent, honest, capable and prepared” Panamanians to apply and assured them that the coalition team would support them.
Chandler made a strong appeal to anyone interested in running for local government or Assembly positions. He explained that those who join the coalition must accept certain commitments, including giving up electoral jurisdiction during the campaign process. “Nobody here is going to be above the law,” said the alternate deputy.
For her part, Irma Hernández, one of the spokespersons for the coalition and part of Vásquez’s work team, stressed that parity will form a key part of the group’s work. “This coalition understands that without women there is no democracy,” she said. In addition, she explained the procedure that those interested must follow to participate.
Vasquez took the stage to a sea of applause. “This team is not complete,” said the deputy, “we require all those people who understand that whoever is not part of the solution, unfortunately is part of the problem.”
“We are going to recover the Assembly, we are going to recover the local governments, and when we do that, we are going to recover Panama,” he said to close the event.
The coalition announced that they will have an open call until May 5 of this year to receive applications from citizens who aspire to be candidates in their circuits or districts.
Registration can be done on the website www.vamosporpanama.com, in which they have more information about the call and the commitments that those who aspire to be pre-candidates or members of the political coalition will acquire. Hernández explained that the application includes reading and signing the Commitments Let’s Go, filling out a questionnaire, attaching a CV and three personal recommendations and sending a short video explaining the motivation to participate in the coalition.
As stated on the website, Vamos will have a Recruitment Committee that will receive the records and analyze them. Then, the core team of the coalition will choose the candidates that they will support in their process towards the 2024 general election. At the moment, a number of candidates that they would support in their aspirations has not been specified. They reported that it will depend on the total number of proposals received. However, they hope to achieve nationwide coverage to reach local governments in different provinces.
